UND captures two weekend wins -- and confidence
Nov. 27—GRAND FORKS — UND won only six men's basketball games last season, only one in the Summit League.
UND made a pretty good case Sunday that this season may be better — considerably better.
UND broke away in the final 10 minutes behind solid defensive play to down Cal State Fullerton 73-57 before 1,199 fans at The Betty. The Hawks improved to 5-3 in beating last season's Big West Conference champion.
UND beat Utah Tech on Friday, 67-52, holding the Trailblazers to six points in the final 10 minutes. The Hawks held Cal State Fullerton to 11 points in the final 10 minutes.
It's too early to pronounce a breakout year for the Hawks but UND's defense appears to be markedly improved from last year and its incoming freshmen have enough offensive skills to give the Hawks an upbeat outlook as Summit League play approaches.
"What this means is you see the potential with this group and what we can become," said UND coach Paul Sather. "We've got to keep the mindset of what we can do to help this team and be ready when your number is called. But we're starting to find the core of some culture and toughness."
UND grabbed a 49-46 lead on a Caleb Nero 3-pointer with 10:35 to play. From there, UND's defense was solid and the Hawks' offense was balanced. Tsonte Tsartsidze led UND with 18 points while Matt Norman worked the perimeter for 14 points. Caleb Nero — with his second-straight impressive performance off the bench — added 12 and B.J. Omot finished with 11 — again scoring on some athletic moves.
Nero's 3-pointer ignited a 19-3 run to put the game away.
UND's defense has been a point of emphasis all season, but it was stressed even more after UND fell by 10 points at home to Big Sky Conference preseason favorite Montana State earlier this season.
"Montana State showed us what it's like to play really hard and to be physical," said Sather. "I'll give Montana State a lot of credit for what happened to us the last three games. We learned a lot playing them."
Neither Utah Tech nor Cal State Fullerton could do much in the final 10 minutes of both games against the Hawks.
"It's been great but there is still room to improve, myself included," said Norman. "No one cares who gets the credit. Everyone is willing to put it on the line defensively."
The Titans started out hot from the field, scoring at a 75 percent clip in the first half. They finished at 42 percent.
"We just couldn't get ourselves in an offensive rhythm," said Cal State Fullerton coach Dedrique Taylor. "We struggled to score against their defense."
UND hits the road for a game Wednesday at Iowa State, which took down No. 1 North Carolina on Saturday.
The Cyclones, said Sather, are the best defensive points per possession team in Division I, added Sather.
"It's an awesome, awesome opportunity for us," said Sather.
